Watching a Demon's path

Episode 5

Episode 5: Cornelia and Euphemia


Milly was delighted seeing the show Lelouch put on. Who knew he could be so fun! After seeing the cold side of Lelouch for the first couple of episodes, this was a great change. But it wasn’t good for her heart. Long buried feelings were starting to resurface.

She has a crush on Lelouch but that was not surprising (80% of the girls at Ashford are the same). He just had something that set him apart from the rest, no matter how much he tried to hide it. Whether it was something that all royals have or unique to Lelouch, she didn’t know.

All she knew was that they were not suitable. She had duties to her family and Lelouch had his own plans. So, she buried those feelings. Later, Shirley came into the picture and she started to root for her.

But Zero was so much her type. Her prince charming. And she was not the only one interested. She caught the look in Kaguya’s eye when Zero came on stage. Thirsty was the only way she could describe it.

Obviously Kaguya was going to go for Lelouch even if she doesn’t. Shirley would be no match for her. So, Milly felt she needed to join her friend in this war. They can share the spoils afterwards. Besides, Lelouch was a prince so polygamy was legal for him anyways.

Convinced that she was not betraying but helping her friend, she grinned mischievously.

Euphemia on the other hand was confused. In the last episode, she wanted to bring up her idea. Changing Britannia from within was always an option, she firmly believed. Compared to the violent method Lelouch as Zero was employing, she wanted a peaceful resolution where she didn’t need to listen to her new friends discussing best ways to kill her family.

Yet, Suzaku had ruined it. There was so much animosity against him that she couldn’t bring up her idea. Somehow, he had become the representative of her ideals even though he was going about it the wrong way.

Still, she didn’t hate him. There was some blame for hurting her brother after he went to such lengths to protect him and the ungratefulness he showed on the bridge. But she knew he was not a bad person after seeing the best sides of him. Narrow-minded is perhaps the best word for him.

She decided to reserve judgement on Suzaku and wait for an opportunity to present her idea to the other girls.
A better world created not through violence but dialogue was her dream. And she looked at the screen wondering if it will come true in that future.

It shows a desert where a battle is going on. Knightmares, different from previous models, are shooting at Britannian tanks.

“What are those?” Kallen eyed the machines with interest.

“Bamides,” Euphemia answered. “Fourth-generation knightmares developed by Middle Eastern Federation to fight Britannia.”

“Don’t they look a little strange?” Shirley questioned. She had never seen knightmares like these.

“They are made for desert terrain, I think,” Milly gave her opinion. Her family made their fortune through knightmare development so she had special vision in this regard.

Kaguya watched with interest to how Bamides will fare against Britannian models.

Purple knightmares counterattacked much to the commander’s shock.
“Gloucester,” a soldier said.

“They were supposed to be in Serupham,” another muttered in shock.

This time Euphemia explained without prompting. “Gloucesters are modified Sutherlands for close combat. With that purple paint…they are my sister’s knights.”

“Cornelia,” Kallen growled as if she was facing an imaginary enemy. “That witch.”
That’s how those in the resistance called that princess.

Euphemia and Nunnally threw her dissatisfied looks but Kallen didn’t care. She was willing to overlook the two princesses in the room because they were non-threatening. But Cornelia was obviously different. She was a formidable enemy, one she will have to face if she followed Lelouch.

Kaguya was keenly accessing the combat power of both sides. Kyoto house was going to produce knightmares too so this was valuable data.

Darlton and Guilford, the pilots of the knightmares insult their enemies and quickly defeat them.
Behind them the enemy base goes up in flames. A single knightmare stands proudly in the ruins.
“So Cornelia, a single unit, did this?” the commander is in shock as he is consumed by flames and dies.

“So that’s Cornelia?” Kallen couldn’t help but tremble.

“Scared, Kallen?” Kaguya provoked while trying to hide her own unease. The witch of Britannia had a fearsome reputation that aroused fear in the hearts of her enemies.

But Kallen replied immediately. “As if, I can take her,” she replied. “But not in my Glasgow.”

“Don’t worry. I have a present waiting for you when we get back.” Kaguya smirked.

Euphemia looked at them unhappily. They were conspiring against her sister in front of her. How much did they look down on her?

I will show them that there is no reason to fight my sister to change Britannian, she vowed. She put her hopes in the future broadcast.

Cornelia is so cool. Nunnally was the only one who didn’t care about the circumstances and only about her elder sister kicking ass on the screen. But Lelouch is cooler.

Cornelia declares the establishment of Area 18.

Mood dropped in the room as they remembered what happened to Japan when it became an area. The same fate was in store for this country.

Even with future knowledge, they didn’t know if they could change the fate of this country. Not even Euphemia could stop Cornelia when she set her mind to something.

Milly wrote it down anyway. Maybe Lelouch could use this information.

Kallen screamed out her frustration. “I HATE BRITANNIA!”

“Don’t worry, Kallen. Lulu will help them.” Shirley said with calm confidence. Her blind faith supported by nothing but her love for Lelouch and her conviction that he could achieve anything he set out to do.

Kallen finally calmed down as the video continued.

Cornelia declares their next course of action will be to go Area 11 and clean up after Clovis.
Her subordinates swear to follow her.
Cornelia asks Darlton, “Do you think Area 11 requires our usual treatment?”
Darlton answers in the affirmative.
“Good,” Cornelia says and declares that she will drag Zero out in the open and avenge Clovis.

“What does she mean by usual treatment?” Kallen paled. She had an ominous premonition.

“Nothing good,” Kaguya whispered, nervously pulling at her dress. She had heard rumours about Cornelia’s methods but had never wanted to experience them personally.

All eyes went to Euphemia as she hit the armrest of sofa in panic.

No, no, no, no… she kept chanting in her head. She was dreading seeing her sister’s methods and also her confrontation with Lelouch.

Euphemia was not ignorant of how her sister worked. The only difference between her and Clovis was that Clovis didn’t put any value in lives that get in his way while Cornelia put a distinct value to each life. As long as Britannia profits from sacrificing a life, she would do so without hesitation. Whether it is a number or a Britannian, it’s the same. Only the value of the life is different.

What was worse was her target was Lelouch and she didn’t even know it. What if she accidentally killed him.

Nunnally was going through the same thoughts but the other way. She was having flashbacks of Clovis dying only with Cornelia replacing him. What if Lelouch killed her just like Clovis?

She wanted Cornelia to be innocent of her mother’s assassination. But she was not sure that will be enough for Lelouch.

With shared horror, the sister’s hugged each other and dreaded the future.
But the video continued.

The Princess and the Witch

“That’s the title,” Shirley noted. "I wonder what it means."

Kallen snorted in disagreement. “Euphemia and Cornelia.”

“Kallen!” Euphemia hissed, coming out of her funk.

Kallen raised her hands in surrender, receiving a ‘well done’ look from Milly.

Lelouch makes his way tiredly back to his home.
“I’m back,” Lelouch says.
“Welcome back, Lelouch.” C2 replies back as if she is the host.
Lelouch stops dead in his tracks.

“Hahaha, the look on his face!” Milly held her stomach and laughed. “C2, you are such a troll.”

C2 curled up her lips. Trolling people was one of hidden pleasures of the immortal. “We are going to have a lot of fun together,” she said to the Lelouch in screen. She was looking forward to it.

Nunnally sighs in relief that he was finally back.
C2: I’m assuming you ate out tonight judging from your appearance.
Nunnally: Thank goodness. I thought maybe you’ve got caught up in the mess caused by that man zero. I tried calling you but you didn’t answer. I wanted to tell you Ms. C2 has been waiting for you.

Milly was amused. “You are pretending like you are part of the household. Like the wife waiting for her husband to come back from work.”

Shirley’s ears perked up at the word ‘wife’ and she looked suspiciously at the immortal witch.

“C2?”
“Your friend goes by such an unusual name. Just her initials,” Nunnally chuckles.

“Lelouch finally knows his future wife’s name,” Milly cheered.

“Milly! Don’t harass Ms. C2,” Shirley protested and changed the subject. “Nunna, that was rude to laugh at her name. ”

“May be I’m suspicious of her,” Nunnally realized after seeing her on screen self’s actions. “I am confirming with brother if she really is his friend.”

Nunnally is crippled so she has no choice but to play along with C2 until her brother came back. Euphemia, realizing this, squeezed her hand in comfort.

Nunnally asks if C2 is his girlfriend.

“Nunna!” Shirley shouted in panic. She felt threatened.

“Don’t worry, Shirley. I’m just joking.” Nunnally chuckled. “But you better hurry up and confess to brother or he may get stolen.”

Shirley was starting to realise that she was not surrounded by friends but love rivals.

“He made a promise about our future together,” C2 answers before Lelouch can.
“You mean marriage?” Nunnally asks.

Laughter filled the room at the counter.

“C2, you are the best,” Milly jumped and sat down beside the witch. “Let’s become best friends. We can have so much fun together.”

At Lelouch’s expense, that is.

C2 gave her a considering look but didn’t refuse.

Lelouch fumbles. “No, it’s not. She’s… kidding around.”
“No, I’m not.”
Nunnally takes her seriously. “Well, you are certainly doing it earlier than most. But everyone is different, aren’t they? So it is not that strange. And if you feel you are ready…”

“Now I know you are doing it deliberately, Nunna,” Milly said.

Nunnally giggled. “Maybe.”

Everyone was happy with the scene except for Shirley…and maybe Lelouch.

Nunnally seems ready to give her blessing when Lelouch picks up a cup and drops it.
Nunnally stops talking after hearing the sound.
“Oh C2. Look what you have done, you are all wet. Come on, let me get you to the bathroom and into a dry change of clothes. Nunnally stay here and I’ll clean it up in a minute. And she was kidding before. Just kidding.”
Lelouch pulls C2 away while making excuses.

“Big brother is a meanie,” Nunna puffed her face in anger. She didn’t like how Lelouch was keeping her in the dark.

“I feel like his excuses are suspicious ,” Milly teased. “Maybe he does have some feelings for C2.”

C2 nodded along. “I was likely his first kiss.”

“No, you aren’t,” Nunnally denied. She cast a side glance at her sister whose face was red at recalling a certain childhood memory.

Lelouch changes his tone after he is away from Nunnally and demands,  “Who are you?”
C2 confirms that her name is C2.
Lelouch demands to know how she is still alive.
C2 instead asks if he liked the power she gave him.
Lelouch confirms that it was her who gave him the power and says he is grateful.
“It allows me to speed up my schedule to obliterate Britannia,” Lelouch says.

No one was surprised. From his monologues, they already knew he was dissatisfied with his current state of life. This was just a confirmation that he would have gone down this path even without geass.

C2 asks if geass is giving him the confidence to destroy Britannia.
“I intended to do it without this power,” Lelouch informs her.

“Lelouch really is like a performer,” Milly chuckled at his theatrics. “Just how has he managed to hide this side of his for so long. He is such a natural.”

Kaguya nodded in agreement, looking at the screen fondly.

C2 finds Lelouch fascinating.
Lelouch asks her future her plans now that the military was after her.
“Not the entire military, only a small faction of it. So it shouldn’t be such hard thing to find a hiding place. I can make do here.”
C2 takes off her clothes and gets in the bed.

Everyone was shocked by C2’s boldness. Blushes covered their faces.

“Ms. C2, this is not appropriate! A boy and girl can’t stay in the same room,” Shirley tried to use the rules as an excuse but her teary eyes implied a different reason as she pleaded. “If you don’t have a place, you can bunk with me.”

C2 shrugged. “I will keep that in mind this time but unfortunately they never got the same offer.” She gestured to the tv.

Shirley realised where this was going and despaired.

“Oooh, are we going to see something steamy,” Milly made perverted gestures with her hands. But she was secretly surprised at the boldness of the lime haired girl. She was starting to realise that C2 maybe the most formidable enemy for Lelouch’s heart. Although she is not interested in it for the time being.

Lelouch doesn’t react to her nudity and protests her idea to stay.

Shirley had hope again. Lulu didn’t react. Maybe he doesn’t find Miss C2 attractive.

But Milly was more realistic. “Is there something wrong with Lelouch?”

She was starting to worry if he was impotent. How can a normal boy not react when a beautiful girl like C2 is in his bed naked.

“Maybe he didn’t see her changing,” Euphemia proposed.

“But he knows she is naked but he didn’t react at all,” Kaguya countered.

“We shouldn’t draw conclusions so early,” Nunnally said hopefully. “But Milly, write it down. If there is really a problem, I will have to take him to a doctor.”

“I have some connections if you need them,” Kaguya said.

Nunnally nodded in gratitude.

“Maybe he likes boys,” C2 casually mentioned. Her words were like a bomb exploding in their minds.

They desperately fought against the idea.

Well, not Nunnally, she didn’t care if her brother was gay as long as he was healthy. The rest of them felt like their soul was leaving their bodies.

Even Euphemia didn’t look happy with the idea. Lelouch had been her first crush, after all.

They decided not to worry about Lelouch’s sexuality. They will think about it after the videos are over.

Lelouch approaches her on the bed and put his hands on both sides of her head.
Looking at her, he states, “It’s dangerous to stay together.”
“If I wander the streets, they’ll find me.”
“My situation is dangerous too.”
C2 turns away from him, closing the discussion.
Lelouch gives up, wondering how she managed to survive with this attitude. He has many questions about her and the contract.
But C2 is in no mood to answer.

“Lelouch is not wrong,” Milly said. “It will be a problem if he and Nunnally are discovered.”

Not only for the two of them but also for her family who was hiding them.

C2 shrugged, “We are in the same boat now. We sink or swim together.”

Milly accepted that because Lelouch in the screen must have his own plans.

“You didn’t explain your wish,” Nunnally accused. She didn’t like the vagueness in the contract one bit.

C2 rolled her eyes.

Lloyd and Cecile are going through the pictures of some recent incidents.
“Fukushima, Kouchi, Hiroshima. This has been the seventh incident since that name Zero raised his head,” Cecile muttered.
Lloyd says that other groups were following his lead and putting up a valiant fight.
Margrave Jeremiah has lost his command because of “Orange”.
Lloyd declares him incompetent as problems have arisen between the police and administration because of him.

Milly giggled, “So ‘orange’ really became a mystery. I can just imagine Lelouch laughing diabolically while watching the news.”

“Jeremiah got what he deserved, no, he got off easy,” Kallen scowled before smiling. “I’m glad that resistance has found new hope.”

But they can’t defeat Britannia. Kaguya kept that to herself. She was more interested in Lelouch’s next move.

In JLF, some people ask Tohdoh to lend a hand now that Zero has created an opportunity.

But Tohdoh is not willing to pay more attention to Zero until he confirms that Kyoto has gifted the Guren Mk. 2 to Zero .

“What is Guren Mk 2?” Kallen wondered.

“Your gift,” Kaguya whispered to her causing her eyes to open wide.

“So what did Orange turn out to be anyway?” C2 asks Lelouch.

“For someone not willing to answer questions, you certainly ask a lot of questions yourself,” Lelouch countered.

Nunnally agreed with her brother.

C2 claims he can choose not to answer just like her.
Lelouch sighs, “There is no orange, I made it up. The more they claim to be comrades of like mind, the easier it is to divide them with thorns of suspicions.”

Euphemia disapproved, “That is a very cynical way of looking at the world.”
Kaguya, however, realised that this was Lelouch’s next move. Creating internal conflict.

C2 is only wearing one of Lelouch’s shirt and going over magazines featuring Zero.

“Miss C2, you need to be more self-conscious,” Shirley said dutifully.
She was no longer jealous because Lelouch doesn’t seen to be reacting at all.

“I am just happy Lelouch has taken another step in his superhero career,” Milly gushed. “He is in papers now!”

“He was on tv before,” Kallen reminded good-naturedly. “And most of that is bad-press.”

Milly snapped her fingers, “Exactly, all heroes get bad press. And heroes and printing press go way back. Just ask Superman and Spiderman.”

C2 asks if getting attention was his goal. Lelouch says, “This uproar is just a means to the end. The world is destined to descend into greater chaos.”

“That sounded cool,” Kallen admitted. “Although I don’t understand.”

Kaguya explained, “He is not satisfied with the status quo. To create a new order, the old order must be destroyed first which will create chaos.”

She was waiting in anticipation for Lelouch’s next move.

“Maybe Lelouch is not a traditional hero but an anti-hero,” Milly mused. “I like them more anyways.”

Nunnally felt like Lelouch was moving further away from her ideal world. This was more like his ideal world really.

Suzaku is declared not guilty for lack of evidence.

There were cheers in the room at that news. Suzaku maybe an idiot but he was not a bad person. Besides, he was Lelouch’s friend.

So, none of them wanted him dead.

“But who pulled strings for him,” Kaguya wondered. She wasn’t so naïve to believe Britannians suddenly discovered their conscience and let him go.

“It was likely brother Schneizel,” Euphemia admitted helplessly. “He is the sponsor behind Lancelot project.”

Second prince Schneizel was the Prime Minister of the strongest superpower in the world and a shrewd politician.

This is bad. If Schneizel is paying attention to Japan, any rebellion will be stuffed out before it can grow. Kaguya panicked.

Schneizel was completely different from Cornelia. Behind Cornelia stood her knight order but behind Schneizel stood the entire Britannia. They were at different levels.

“He doesn’t look very happy,” Shirley noticed Suzaku’s melancholy.

“He is a moron,” Kallen rolled her eyes. “Maybe he wanted to die and didn’t get his wish.”

Shirley admonished her for saying that but C2 knew she had mistakenly hit the right target.

There is a shout from above as he is walking out and a girl is falling down when he looks up.
He throws his luggage and catches her.

“Euphy!” Nunnally shouted in worry.

“Pink Princess, are you trying to die!?” Kallen said harsh words with worried face. She wouldn’t admit it to anyone but Euphy had started to grow on her.

“Heehee, don’t worry, I’m tougher than I look,” Euphemia stuck out her tongue.

“This is so romantic,” Shirley gushed, wishing for a similar situation. She had no plans to jump from tall buildings but if she ever fell she wanted Lulu to catch her.

Romantic? Euphy’s face turned red. There was something wrong with Suzaku’s mind but nothing was wrong with his looks. He was very handsome.

Euphemia apologizes for not looking before jumping.

Kallen slapped a hand to her face, “So you really leapt?”

Euphy whistled innocently.

“Don’t worry. I wasn’t expecting a girl to fall into my arms either,” Suzaku chuckles.

“Well, Suzaku is suddenly happy with your highness there,” Milly teased. “And did he just flirt?”

“Not intentionally. He is just like Lulu,” Shirley scowled, remembering all the girls Lelouch had flirted with unintentionally.

Euphemia asks for help from Suzaku, saying bad guys were chasing her.

“Euphy, you are running away from home,” Milly realised. “I used to do this all the time when I was young.”

“President, you are still young,” Shirley reminded.

“I mean when I was younger,” Milly corrected. “So, young padawan, if you want, I can teach you my tricks.”

“Please do.” Euphemia sincerely requested.

Milly gained her third best friend.

Pureblood faction is discussing what ‘orange’ could mean, feeling disgraced because of it.

They don’t believe in Jeremiah’s claim of memory loss, the same as Bartley.

“This is bad,” Nunnally bit her lips. “At this rate, they will find out about brother’s power.”

“No way are these guys going to put two and two together,” Kallen claimed. But it was hard to say who she was trying to reassure, Nunnally or herself.

“The Emperor already knows,” Kaguya recalled suddenly. Her eyes growing in horror. “If he knows about geass and has one himself then, he will realise what Zero did. Worse, at this point in time, he likely knows about geass more than Lelouch.”

Her horror was shared by everyone now. If there was one thing they could agree on, it was that the emperor was an enemy.

The only one calm from start to finish was C2, who knew the truth.
Purebloods are convinced Jeremiah is hiding something or he was bribed.
Villetta has a different opinion that she doesn’t share with them.

She has memory loss too, as do other Sutherland pilots who lost their knightmares in Shinjuku.

“Just what we needed, her.” Kallen gritted her teeth. “That emperor is a far away problem. But she is an immediate problem.”

“She saw Lelouch’s face. She can track him down,” Kaguya also frowned.
But she also calmed down. It was a future that has yet to come. Even if it ended in tragedy, they just had to learn and do better.

Suzaku and Euphy are introducing each other while taking a walk.

She doesn’t tell him she is a princess but recognises him as the new celebrity, Suzaku Kururugi.

Suzaku realises she had lied about being chased.
Euphemia holds a conversation with a cat.

“Euphy is so nice,” Shirley said with a smile.

Euphy smiled at her.

“And cute,” Milly interjected. “Look Suzaku thinks so too.”

Euphy turned red again.

Euphemia holds up the cat to Suzaku and they play with it together.
The cat bites him.

“Is it just me or does Suzaku become likeable when he is in the same frame as the princess,” Kallen questioned, not believing such words could come out of her mouth.

“It is the power of love.”
This time it was Shirley who turned the princess red.

Lloyd and Cecile are on their way to pickup Suzaku when they see him with Princess Euphemia.

“This isn’t good,” Kaguya said. “An honorary Britannian getting close to the princess is a scandal that Britannia can’t accept.”

“I am sure Lloyd and Cecile won’t blab,” Milly assured. “They are on Suzaku’s side.”

“How can you be sure only the two of them saw them?” Kallen asked the million dollar question.

“Don’t worry. I will protect Suzaku.”
Euphemia declared as if she was the protagonist of shounen manga.

Euphemia questions if Suzaku dislikes cats.

Suzaku answers that he likes them but they don’t like him.

The black cat bares it’s fangs at him when he tries to get to him.
Euphemia: I think unrequited love is a sign of a kind person.

Kallen snorted,  “I think it is just a sign of a sad person.”

“How would you know Kallen? Have you ever been in love?” Shirley asked, trying to defend her own love.

“No,” Kallen said, remembering her mother. “But I have seen such a person. A miserable person.”

The cats runs away.
Suzaku asks why she lied to him.
“Do you ask because you are concerned about me?” Euphemia asks.
Suzaku hesitates and says, “ Of course.”
“Good. Then you can accompany me some more.”
Euphemia pulls him with her.

Milly whistled in appreciation, “ Your Highness, congrats, you will soon have him wrapped around your fingers.”

“That is not my intention,” Euphemia said in defence.

What follows was a dating montage. Soft music playing. Two people having fun. Their conversation playing in the background.

“What’s with this sweet atmosphere?” Kallen tried for a disgusted tone but what came out was a voice filled with envy.

“Don’t envy, Kallen. I can arrange a date for you with Lelouch. But only after Shirley and I have our turns.” Milly didn’t even bother to hide her desires at this point.

Shirley was lost in her own dreamland anyway.

Kallen protested with a red face, “I am not interested in romance. And why does this entire episode seems like a date episode.”

Kaguya, who was interested in romance, passed a message to Milly through her eyes and they reached an agreement.

Euphemia decided she had to track down Suzaku because her on screen self was having too much fun and she wanted to have fun too.

The date finally comes to an end.
Euphemia: I want you take me to one last place.
Suzaku: Your wish is my command, my lady. Where to?
Kaguya was happy to see Suzaku so positive even though she was not optimistic about their relationship .
Euphemia demands to be taken to Shinjuku.

And just like that, the light mood was gone.

“What do you want to do?” Kallen tried her best to keep her cool. She knew Euphemia wasn’t the type to sprinkle salt in wounds. But Shinjuku was a fresh wound.

“Pay my respect,” Euphemia replied, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

Kaguya didn’t think there was any problem. In fact, the screen maybe better judge of character than personal interaction. If the princess in the video is trustworthy then the princess in the room is also trustworthy.

So she wanted to see more of Euphemia.

Lelouch is sitting on a bench at school when Kallen approaches him.

“Do you have a minute?” she asks.
She asks him to find out the caller id of the call she received when she was in the bathroom since Lelouch was there too.

Milly smiled so wide that her face split. “ Oh my god! Of all the people, you went to him.”

Kallen was so embarrassed she wished that the earth would open up and swallow her. She could understand her screen self’s reasoning. It was a school phone, Lelouch was on student council and he was there. Still, it was her dark history .

Milly didn’t make it any easier. “I bet Lelouch suffered internal injury to hold in that laugh.”

Screw my life. I want to die. Kallen was despondent.

“It was a school phone so I can’t do it,” Lelouch replies.
Lelouch was a professional liar so his mask didn’t even crack until … he saw C2 in his clothes behind Kallen, out in the open.

“What the fuck is she doing!?” Surprisingly, the one who lost her temper first was not Kallen. It was Milly. She turned her angry eyes to the immortal in the room. “What are you doing?”

“How would I know? It is the future,” C2 was infuriatingly calm.

Milly took deep breaths to calm herself down. “Don’t you realise how risky this is. Military is searching for you. Lelouch and Nunnally are hiding from the empire. If you get found out you will ruin many lives.”

Her own. Lelouch’s. Nunnally’s. Milly’s family’s.

“I won’t get caught,” C2 still maintained nonchalance. She knew she must have reached an agreement with Charles and Marriane by this time. Not that she would tell the girls in the room that. She wanted to see their reaction when they figured it out.

Seeing her disregard caused Milly even more distress.

“Crazy bitch.” Milly muttered before sitting down with Shirley again.

Shirley threw C2 an apologetic look and tried to comfort her friend.

Kallen tries to turn around. To prevent her from seeing C2, Lelouch holds her face and turns her towards him.
Shirley spies them from above and mistakes them for kissing.

Milly came to life once again.
She hugged her friend in comfort and groped her. “Oh my poor Shirley. Don’t worry. If your Lulu abandons you, I will take care of you.”

“Milly, keep your hands away.” Shirley slapped her friend away with familiar ease. She was so angry with Milly that she didn’t have time to feel sorry for her future self’s misunderstanding.

Kallen felt the urge to punch Lelouch through the screen. Couldn’t he have distracted her some other way?
Now, Shirley was going to hate her. She felt pity for her future self.

Bartley is going back to the homeland as a prisoner and lamenting his involvement with C2.

C2 scoffed. He talks like I forced him to experiment on me.

Lelouch pulls C2 to the rooftop and lectures her, “Are you insane? You can’t just go walking around.”
“Don’t act strict with me. I don’t leave the school grounds so it’s fine,” C2 replies.

Milly rolled her eyes, giving up on reasoning with the immortal. But her temper had already cooled down and she was starting to regret what she had said. C2 had been a prisoner, she remembered. It was normal for her to want to move around.

She slinked back to C2 and apologized and was easily forgiven.

C2 didn’t mind her words. Milly was good-intentioned. She had been called worse things. Way, way worse. By people who truly hated her.

“It’s not,” Lelouch says. “You can’t do as you wish here. You don’t belong.”
“I don’t belong anywhere.”

Milly hugged C2’s arm and denounced. “Don’t listen to him, C2. He doesn’t know how to talk to girls. You belong with us.”

Oh Lulu. Shirley looked like a mother fed up of her child’s mischief.

Nunnally and Euphemia offered a formal apology.

C2 wasn’t offended by Lelouch’s remarks. He had spoken nothing but the truth. She told them so:
“I don’t mind his words. He is genuine, at least. Much better than my previous contractors.”

“How were they?” Kaguya asked curiously.

“Bootlickers,” C2 said. And psycho stalkers.

C2 looks at a girl marking the wall. “What is she doing?”
Lelouch is surprised she is doing it again and remarks that he used geass to make her mark the wall everyday.
“You testing how long it lasts?”
“I need to know the specs of the weapon I wield don’t I?”
Lelouch threatens to use the power on her if she didn’t behave.
C2 implies that it won’t work on her but assures him that she was on his side.

There was silence in the room but it was the silence before the storm.

Milly and Shirley were on the verge on explosion but Shirley exploded first.

“How could Lelouch do something so cruel!?” she screamed in heartache. “He used our classmates to experiment with his power.”

She sobbed uncontrollably, remembering the girl in the video.

“How long is it going to last Miss C2?” Kaguya asked the most important question.

“It won’t be forever…unless Lelouch tried really hard. But it will likely last years before wearing off,” C2 was trying to reassure them.

But Milly wasn’t reassured. Instead, she felt more horrible. “What if she is sick or away from here?”

“She will try her best to follow the command,” C2 answered honestly.

Milly closed her eyes and prayed that this girl will be free of geass before such a situation occurs but it was just her delusion.

She would graduate from school before geass fades away. And after that …

Lelouch was going to a special hell for this  and Milly was the one who is going to send him there. His punishment would be one he will remember for life. She didn’t care if he had not done it yet. It was to make sure he never ever thinks of doing something like this.

Shirley was still sobbing and Kallen was shuddering in horror from flashbacks of her own brief spell under geass.

“I had forgotten for a moment the nature of geass, how cruel this power is.” Kaguya whispered to herself. Because geass is mental power, there is no defence. If it was physical superpower, it could be detected, defended or in the worst case scenario, the damage caused could be healed. But none of that was possible with geass.

Euphemia and Nunnally looked at each other with resolve. They were going to stop Lelouch from accepting this power at all costs.

After they had all calmed down, they resumed.

Suzaku and Euphemia are in Shinjuku ghetto.
Suzaku laments that the ghetto is destroyed again just when the residents were about to return.

“No thanks to you,” Kallen snarled.

“It wasn’t his fault, he didn’t know,” Euphemia defended him.

Milly looked at her coldly. “Ignorance is not an excuse to escape sin. The strong must think more than the weak before taking action because their actions have greater consequences.”

Lelouch’s sin of destroying a young girl’s life was inexcusable. The same was true for Suzaku.

Some Britannian kids are taking video and commenting about the battle without any regard for the dead.

“This is Britannia,” Kaguya said to Euphemia. “Do you think they will change by words alone?”

She actually knew about the princess’ idea in the last episode. Suzaku was an idiot but Euphemia was an idealist. Her wish was hers alone. The rest of the Britannia never agreed to it.

“How would we know if we don’t try?” Euphemia was firm.

The rest of them weren’t stupid. They deduced that the princess was walking on the same path as Suzaku, just with more brains.

No wonder those two fit so much on their first meeting. They were a match made in heaven.

Jeremiah is lured to the ghetto with misinformation about zero.
The operator assures him that Kewell, his follower, is the source of information so it is legit.
However, the operator is in league with Kewell and the information about Zero is a lie.
Villetta overhears him and pulls out her sword.

Kallen rubbed her hands, “I feel a fight coming. The second best type. Dog beats dog."

“What’s the best type?” Milly asked after nothing down Kewell’s name. If he could go against Jeremiah once then, he can do it again.

Kallen grinned like a maniac. “Of course, it’s the type where I beat the dogs.”

“Kallen, that’s animal abuse,” Shirley chided. “You shouldn’t insult dogs by comparing them to these people.”

Dogs are such cute animals . How can they be as monstrous as Kewell and Jeremiah? Shinjuku massacre was still etched in her mind.

Kallen looked at her with stars in her eyes, “Shirley, I want to steal you from Milly and make you my best friend.”
But Milly hugged Shirley tight and shook her head in “nope, not happening.”

At Shinjuku ghetto, the disrespectful Britannians meet with Tamaki and his friends and get in a fight.

Kaguya sent a significant look Euphy’s way. The blatant racism in the conflict should show what Britannia is like right now.

Shirley and Milly paid attention to their uniform; they were from Ashford.
Shirley disapproved, “ How can they be so disrespectful?”

“Our country encourages such behaviour so that’s to be expected,” Milly sighed helplessly.

Suzaku intervenes and his identity is revealed.
Britannians mistake him for Clovis’ murderer before remembering that Zero was the culprit.
Tamaki is enraged at Suzaku and taunts him, “He is just a slave. Big deal, you are an honorary Britannian, nobody cares. You sold, your pride, your people, yet you call yourself Japanese.”

Kallen cheered Tamaki on, “You tell him, Tamaki!”

“That’s needlessly harsh,” Nunnally said in distress.

“It’s nothing but the truth,” Kallen insisted.

“They honorary Britannians are just trying to protect themselves. Not everyone is as courageous as you Kallen,” Euphemia reasoned.

“That however doesn’t change the fact that a divide between the two factions of Japanese has been created,” Kaguya observed. “It will be hard for those who are still fighting to accept those who surrendered.”

Tamaki goes for a punch but Suzaku throws him down.
“Stop, please. I warn you, I have been trained for military combat. Don’t make me fight against my own people.”

“His methods maybe wrong but Suzaku still considers himself one of us,” Kaguya said happily.

“So he says,” Kallen scoffed. She hadn’t forgotten that Suzaku had referred to them as ‘elevens’ during his rescue. That was in his heart.

“Traitor,” Tamaki growls one last time before walking away with his comrades.
Suzaku looks down in sadness.
“Suzaku, are you ok?” Euphemia asks.
Suzaku nodded.
The Britannian students are not happy as their camera broke in the scuffle.

“They should be happy they got off so easily,” Kallen rolled her eyes.

Shirley sighed in relief. She didn’t approve of their actions but she didn’t want to see any students get hurt.

They blame Suzaku for coming to their rescue late.
“Why did you let him go? You should have killed him. What’s a few dead elevens to a guy like you?”

“How can they say something like that?” Shirley was aghast. She couldn’t believe her schoolmates can hold such terrible thoughts, much less voice them.

“Shirley, this is the true Britannia ,” Kaguya reminded her. “These students will grow up to be the knights who massacred Shinjuku. They are the future.”

Euphemia didn’t protest that statement. But she hadn’t given up on her methods. Her will was not that weak.

Kallen sneered, “This is what Suzaku gets for becoming Britannia’s lapdog.”

Euphemia slaps the student who is insulting Suzaku. “I am not allowing you to insult this man any longer, you oaf.”

“Nice shot,” Kallen gave her a thumbs up.

Kaguya smiled. At least, the princess wasn’t all talk and no bite.

Lelouch is telling the results of his experiment with geass to C2.
Eye contact is necessary but it needn’t be direct, reflecting glass or lenses will work too. Effective range is 270 metres.
“Memory loss is probably due to the damage caused to the brain by geass,” he speculates in the end.

“He is wrong,” C2 said before the rest could panic. “Geass doesn’t harm the brains of the victims.”

But it does affect the brain of the user. She didn’t tell them this.

“Not all geass cause memory loss,” she continued. “And if that geass is broken, your memory will recover.”

Milly still didn’t look happy. It’s because of how Lelouch gathered this information. She noted it down nevertheless. If Lelouch has this info, he wouldn’t need to experiment.

Subjects. Shirley mumbled angrily.

C2 praises him at his work.
“My opponent is the strongest nation in the entire world. There is no such thing as being too careful.”
Lelouch looks through the window at Sayako and Nunnally.
C2 questions his motives while reminding him that geass will not be enough against such a strong opponent.

Kaguya leaned forward, waiting for Lelouch’s answer.

“Is it good to be strong?” Lelouch asks.
“Is it bad to be weak?” Suzaku asks.

Everyone was surprised by Suzaku being shown suddenly but they didn’t speak because of the change in music. It felt like this was an important moment.

“Back when I was ten, the world seemed like such a terrible place. A world without hope.” Suzaku tells Euphy.
Lelouch: Starvation.
Suzaku: Disease.
Lelouch: Filth. Decay.
Suzaku: Racism.
Lelouch: Constant war and terrorism.
Suzaku: Living in a never ending cycle of hate.
Lelouch: Rats running in a wheel.
Suzaku: The cycle must be broken. Somebody has to do it.
“How idealistic,” C2 says to Lelouch.
“Of course, it’s doubtful whether the one who will do it will make everything better,” Suzaku says.
“I am not that arrogant and so…” Lelouch continues.
“No one should lose more of their loved ones. At least a world without war.” Suzaku finishes.

Wow. Milly thought. “Are they completing each other’s sentences or is that the cinematography?”

“Lulu and Suzaku are so …mature,” Shirley said unintentionally but these were her true thoughts. The two young men seemed to be carrying the weight of the entire world on their shoulders.

“They seem to be on the same page here but in the last episode, they had a conflict.” Kallen pointed out.

“It’s because they have such strong conviction that their conflict is inevitable.” Kaguya explained to her. “Because they are sure that their method to reach the goal is the correct one and won’t accept the other side.”

Nunnally cursed her helplessness. Suzaku and Lelouch had been touched by the war Britannia waged on Japan. She, who had been protected by the two of them, was the only one pretending that everything was the same.

Euphemia wanted to know how Suzaku would go about to achieve his dream.

C2 and Euphy ask how they will create such an utopia

“It’s simple. When somebody wins, the fighting win end.” Lelouch answers.
“I don’t know how you’ll do it but if I don’t try, my father’s death will have been in vain.” Suzaku clutches his father’s pocket watch.

“Lelouch has clear vision but Suzaku…” Milly sighed. “He doesn’t have a path to the goal but denies Lelouch’s methods.”

She didn’t approve of everything Lelouch does but she knew he had a reason behind everything. Drastic measures are necessary to reach such lofty goals. An utopian world with no war is ever harder to reach than defeating Britannia.

“How does his father’s death have anything to do with his joining Britannia?” Kallen was confused.

Although Genbu Kururugi had surrendered to Britannia, it was to win later. He had even chosen to commit suicide than become the enemy’s prisoner.

Kaguya had no answer to this question. In fact, she was hoping the screen will shed some light on that period of the past.

“My father died because he had to sacrifice his life in war.”

Kallen was too exasperated to speak. The war was started by Britannia! How does joining the enemy honour his father’s death.

“Is he a secret spy?” Milly speculated. “He is pretending to be loyal to Britannia only to turn coat at the most important moment.”

That would explain all his contradictory actions.

“I will believe it when I see it,” Kallen snorted, not optimistic about the idea.

They hear an explosion near them and see smoke and fire.

At the scene of explosion, Jeremiah is ambushed by his previous subordinates.
“Jeremiah, you will pay for letting Prince Clovis’ murderer go free.”
“Kewell, you dirty coward! That sighting of Zero was a lie, wasn’t it?”
“We have to wipe away our disgrace before Princess Cornelia takes office. This is how we keep our officials honest,” Kewell answers.

C2 chuckled. “Looks like Lelouch was right about them after all.”

Lloyd and Cecile drive to Suzaku and Euphemia.
“It’s dangerous. Get in.”
“Purebloods are having a silly squabble. Let’s get out of here. Oh, and by the way, what a shame about your acquittal. Because now you will have to work for me again.”

Milly laughed. “Lloyd has a wicked sense of humour, it wouldn’t be completely bad to marry him. And I can Lelouch as a side dish. The best of both worlds, ouch.”
She got punched in the ribs by Shirley for making such a joke.

Suzaku wants to use Lancelot and intervene in the fight.
“I am sorry, Euphy. We need to say goodbye here. I need to do this. I think I can stop with them with the Lancelot. I have to try. I… I must.”

“Kewell has the worst luck. He wanted to look better in front of Cornelia but when he finds out Princess Euphemia saw him ganging up on a superior officer, tsk.” Kallen was taking pleasure in his misfortune.

Jeremiah is overwhelmed by his four enemies.
“Don’t worry Jeremiah. We will say you died in battle. Your family’s name won’t be in disgrace.”

Milly rolled her eyes. “At least they have their priorities correct.”

And my family wants to go back to this.

Jeremiah is angry as he realises Kewell is really going to kill him.
They go for the finish but are interrupted by Lancelot.
“That’s him. It is the honorary Britannian.”
Jeremiah is shaken.

“Yes, the very same person you tried to frame unjustly.” Euphemia muttered, hoping he will have a change of heart after this.

Kewell warns Suzaku to not interfere.
But Suzaku pulls his swords and declares that he will stop this senseless fight.
“Oh my god, they perfected the MVS.” Kewell is shaken at the sight of the swords.

“MVS is the name for the sword, right?” Kallen looked in envy. “Those are cool swords.”

“Vibration swords. So they equipped Lancelot with those.” Milly noted it down.

Kaguya looked with sharp eyes. This battle could provide valuable data on enemy combat power.

Kewell and the others attack Lancelot.
Lancelot jumps down while cutting and deflecting slash harkens mid air.

“Is that thing really a knightmare?” Milly was amazed . “It moves just like a human. No, even better.”

“Ugh, I want one too,” Kallen complained in envy.

Kaguya frowned. It’s just as strong as Guren. If they can mass-produce it, we will be in big trouble.

Jeremiah is surprised Suzaku is saving him.
Suzaku engages the purebloods in combat.
“We can at least kill Orange!” Kewell goes for Jeremiah.
Villetta protects him.

Milly noted her down. She was loyal to Jeremiah.

Kewell orders everyone to stand down and uses a chaos mine.
Euphemia runs into the battlefield.

Everyone became worried again. Euphy was going to get caught up in it.

“Jeez, princess, don’t you have any common sense.” Kallen scolded her again. “Don’t run towards war zones without protection.”

Suzaku creates a barrier to protect Euphy.

“See, I am not in any danger.” Euphemia said. “I knew Suzaku will protect me.”

“You entrusted your life to Suzaku after just one date. That’s so romantic, Euphy.” Shirley was happy for her friend.

“No, that’s not…I mean…”

Kallen helped her out. “She ran there without thinking and is now making excuses.”

Euphy pouted in dissatisfaction.

“Suzaku is just like a white knight, isn’t he?” Nunnally said happily. She couldn’t bear to see Euphy hurt, not even in the screen.

“Everyone, in my name, I command you, lower your weapons. I am Euphemia li Britannia, third princess of the royal family.”
Euphemia reveals her identity and takes control.
Everyone is in shock, especially Suzaku.

“The look on Suzaku’s face,” Milly chuckled. “And won’t Kewell get killed by princess Cornelia when she finds out that he almost killed you.”

“I will hide this matter probably,” Euphemia replied, knowing herself best.

However, Kewell was likely to live in trepidation in the near future.

All knightmares kneel, asking her forgiveness.

Suzaku asks for forgiveness for treating her casually without knowing her identity.
Euphemia states that she shares his pain as she too had lost her brother to war. She wants to join him in his quest for a war-free world.

Kallen didn’t like that comparison. But she didn’t comment. The princess on-screen was just ignorant.

The rest of them sent significant looks to the pink Princess.

Euphemia, on the other hand, was not surprised. She too had started to look for a way different from Lelouch’s to change the world ever since seeing Clovis die.
The difference was she didn’t need Suzaku to guide her. Maybe because she saw everything Clovis had done.
Or because she didn’t want to go the same way this future was heading, where Lelouch kills his family with his own hands.

Although he may not treat us as family anymore.

Euphemia welcomes Cornelia who scolds her gently for running away.
“I know, sister, forgive me.”
“You will address me as Viceroy here, sub-viceroy Euphemia. Because we are sisters, we must follow a stricter protocol.”

“Congratulations are in order, I guess. Your first appointment, Euphy.” Nunnally was happy for her sister.

“Thank you, Nunnally. But I am not sub-viceroy yet.” Euphemia was absent-minded. She was wondering if her future self will use this identity to do something. And if so then what? She wanted to learn from her future self.

“Well, it’s better you than anyone else,” Kallen conceded grudgingly.

Cornelia demands a report.
Her new subordinate informs her of a welcome party.
Cornelia pulls a gun on him and demands to know about the empire’s enemy Zero.

“Wow, she is completely different from Prince Clovis.” Shirley recalled that the first time she saw Clovis, he had been in a party.

“Sister is a general, not a politician.” Euphemia said worriedly. “I should have known she will go after Lelouch right away.”

Lelouch is surprised to find Suzaku will be joining his class in Ashford.

“Why is Suzaku there?” Milly panicked. “Is he there for Lelouch or Zero? Did the emperor send him?”

“Milly, calm down, you are not making sense.” Shirley patted her back.

“They won’t send Suzaku for either of those. He is an honorary Britannian,” Kaguya reminded her.

“But Suzaku knows Lelouch. What if he tells Euphemia where he is?” Kallen questioned in worry. She wasn’t happy to have an enemy this close. Her cover was not safe.

“Suzaku won’t, I trust him,” Nunnally replied firmly. “He knows why we are hiding from our family.”

Euphemia looked at her sadly. She was hoping for a reunion, actually. Not with Zero, but with Lelouch and Nunnally.

“Well, security risks aside, it’d be fun to have Suzaku in Ashford,” Milly said after overcoming her panic.

Shirley nodded. “We can become friends.”

Screen goes dark.
Only Lelouch’s voice is heard.
Yes, I understand I am lying. To Shirley and Rivalz and the others. Even to Suzaku and Nunnally. But there is no going back now. I can’t turn back. As long as C2 and I are bound by our contract, I have to keep at this. Because I don’t want to lie to myself anymore.

Shirley had tears in her eyes upon hearing his true thoughts. She was glad to know that he really cared about her.

“Good for you Shirley, you got named. Not like me, I became ‘the others’.” Milly said unhappily. “Am I worse than Rivalz in Lelouch’s list? Seems like I have to remind him of his childhood friend’s charms.”

As long as brother doesn’t make a contract with Miss C2, he won’t have to lie to me. Nunnally thought. Will she accept me as a substitute? If so…

C2 was pleased with Lelouch’s commitment. He may really be the one who will fulfil her wish.